Opening week is when the optimism of the off-season dies for the teams that were, perhaps, not nearly as improved as their fans had hoped. But after Alex Smith and the Kansas City Chiefs got things started with an upset of the New England Patriots on Thursday night, plenty of other teams went into Sunday believing they too could defeat the odds.

The season is long and punishing, but here is what we have learned so far in Week 1.

■ No one told Dak Prescott about the sophomore slump. Prescott, the Dallas Cowboys quarterback, came out of nowhere to dominate as a rookie last season, and he was right back at it, passing for 268 yards and a touchdown in a controlled, 19-3 win over the rival Giants. With Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension on hold indefinitely, it appears Dallas is once again going to be among the best offenses in the N.F.L.

■ The Green Bay Packers’ defense may no longer be constructed entirely of tissue paper. It was a mostly quiet game for Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay’s offense, but that hardly mattered as the Packers’ defense absolutely smothered the Seahawks, holding them to 135 passing yards and 225 yards of total offense. They were particularly effective on third down, limiting Seattle to three conversions on 12 attempts.

■ Teams in need of a dominant defensive player will soon be scouring the Watt family tree to see if there are any more brothers to draft. J.J. Watt, the veteran standout for the Houston Texans, was greeted with thunderous applause in his home debut, thanks in large part to his fund-raising efforts in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, but his little brother T.J. was more impressive on the field. A rookie linebacker, T.J. Watt had an incredible N.F.L. debut for the Pittsburgh Steelers with seven tackles, two sacks and an interception.

■ Marshawn Lynch is still Marshawn Lynch. After he came out of retirement, it was unclear what could be expected of him. But Lynch showed flashes of Beast Mode, rumbling for 76 yards. He also sat during the national anthem and declined to explain himself to the news media, proving that nothing much has changed in his world.

Packers Defense Outshines Seahawks Defense

The Green Bay Packers offense took nearly three quarters to warm up, but the Seattle Seahawks offense did not show up at all, leading to an intense 17-9 victory for the Packers.

It was not the prettiest of games for Green Bay, and tensions were high on both sides, but the Packers’ offense took advantage of a few uncharacteristic mistakes by the Seahawks, and the team’s defense looked dramatically improved from a year ago. With the victory, the Packers come away from the highly anticipated matchup as perhaps the scariest team in the N.F.C.

It was Green Bay’s defense that changed the tone of the game late in the third quarter. Seattle was leading by 3-0 and had the ball, but Mike Daniels was able to get to Russell Wilson for a sack and a fumble, setting up a 6-yard touchdown run by Ty Montgomery that seemed to wake up the Packers.

After allowing Seattle to respond with a field goal, the Packers took control of the game with a vintage Aaron Rodgers drive. He led the team 43 yards in eight plays before noticing the Seahawks had 12 men on the field. As he has done so many times before, Rodgers waited for the penalty flag to fly, then took advantage of the mistake and threw deep to Jordy Nelson, who beat the coverage for a 32-yard touchdown which essentially put the game out of reach for the struggling Seahawks.

The questions will be plentiful in Seattle. The Seahawks came into the game believing they were at full-strength with the return of Earl Thomas and the addition of Sheldon Richardson. If the team’s offense had not pulled a disappearing act, holding the high-powered Green Bay offense to 17 points would be considered a positive.

Despite a quiet first half, Rodgers ended up completing 28 of 42 passes for 311 yards and one touchdown. He saw the end of a career-long streak of 251 regular season passes without an interception but he easily outdueled Wilson, who completed just 14 of 27 passes for 158 yards.

The game was expected to be tight, but the intensity bubbled over early in the game on a bizarre play in the first quarter that resulted in the interception, a pair of questionable penalties, and an ejection.

Rodgers was picked off by Nazair Jones, a rookie defensive tackle out of North Carolina who ran the ball back 64 yards for what appeared to be just the second pick-six of Rodgers’s career.

A blocking penalty brought the ball back nearly the entire distance of the return, and in a separate incident, Jeremy Lane, a veteran cornerback for Seattle, was ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct. Lane had become entangled with Davante Adams of the Packers during the return, and was cited for throwing a punch even though Adams appeared to be the aggressor in the altercation.

Mike Pereira, former vice president of officiating, called it like he saw it:

In #SEAvsGB they missed the initial foul on Adams. And that was a block in the back on Rodgers? I don't think the play was well-officiated.

Green Bay will travel to Atlanta next week, in a rematch of last season’s N.F.C. championship game, while the Seahawks will host the lowly San Francisco 49ers in Seattle.

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Eli Manning was sacked in the first half by the Cowboys’ Demarcus Lawrence.CreditTom Pennington/Getty Images

Cowboys Don’t Sparkle, but Cruise Past Giants

The Dallas Cowboys’ offense spent nearly the entire first half on the field, and while they struggled to turn that dominance into points, they did enough to walk away with an easy 19-3 victory over the Giants in Week 1.

The anticipated matchup between division rivals did not turn into much, with Jason Witten, the newly-minted franchise leader in receiving yards for the Cowboys, scoring the only touchdown of the game on a 12-yard catch in the second quarter. Witten, who had 7 catches for 59 yards tonight, passed Michael Irvin on the team’s career receiving list with his second catch of the day, and now has 11,947 career yards to Irvin’s 11,904. The touchdown was set up by a somewhat controversial pass interference call on Janoris Jenkins of the Giants, which gave Dallas a free 21 yards.

Witten described passing Irvin as “special” to him because of what Irvin meant to the team, and gave some credit to his team’s young stars like Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott.

“These young guys have energized me in a lot of ways,” Witten said. “I just thank those guys around me for making me a lot better.”

Prescott, who has used Witten as a safety valve in his first two season in the N.F.L., seemed humbled to be the person to put Witten on top

“I don’t even know if I could put it into words,” Prescott said of his star tight end after the game. “This is a guy you have to follow and you have to watch. He does everything the right way.”

The win came thanks in large part to a first half in which the Cowboys dominated time of possession to the point that their offense had the ball for 20:33 compared to 9:27 for the Giants. Dallas had 265 yards to the Giants’ 49, ran 47 plays to the Giants’ 19 and converted 16 first downs to the Giants’ two. The Giants were more competitive in the second half, but only had one field goal to show for their efforts.

The Giants played without Pro Bowl receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who was ruled inactive before the game with an ankle injury.

Prescott, who was 0-2 against the Giants last season, completed 24 of 39 passes for 268 yards and a touchdown, and Ezekiel Elliott chipped in with 104 rushing yards on 24 carries. The game was mostly devoid of highlight reel plays beyond a sensational 30-yard catch by Brice Butler in the first half that set up one of Dan Bailey’s four field goals, and a memorable one-handed catch by Cole Beasley that the wide receiver trapped behind his head as he was about to fall out of bounds.

“19 points? We want more than that,” Prescott said in an on-field interview after the game. “But we’ll take it. A win’s a win.”

Taking care of business against a division rival was important for Dallas, but Elliott’s status for the rest of the season continues to be the biggest story line for the Cowboys. A ruling last week allowed him to continue playing, but the N.F.L. is likely to appeal the decision and try to enforce the suspension that Elliott was given after a lengthy investigation into domestic violence allegations.

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Rams Impressive in McVay’s Debut

Jared Goff passed for a career-high 306 yards and a touchdown in his first victory as an N.F.L. starter, and the Los Angeles Rams routed the Indianapolis Colts, 46-9, on Sunday in Sean McVay’s impressive debut as the youngest head coach in modern league history.

Todd Gurley had 40 yards rushing and 56 yards receiving while the Rams roared to a 37-3 lead in the third quarter. Los Angeles snapped a six-game skid at the Coliseum with its most impressive performance since returning home from St. Louis last year. (AP)

Panthers Beat Rebuilding 49ers

The Carolina Panthers probably hoped for more offensive consistency against a lowly team like the San Francisco 49ers, but a 23-3 victory is a good way to start the season regardless of how the sausage was made. Cam Newton barely completed half of his passes (14 for 25), and did not cross the 200-yard threshold in passing yards, but he found the end zone after both of San Francisco’s turnovers, which was enough for a win against a team still firmly in rebuild mode. The loss was anticipated, but the 49ers were dealt a fairly serious bit of bad news when an ankle injury knocked the promising rookie linebacker Reuben Foster out of the game. His status going forward is not yet known.

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Bears running back Tarik Cohen dove into the end zone for a touchdown in the second half.CreditNam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Bears Scare Falcons, but Come Up Short

The Chicago Bears came into the season with incredibly low expectations, but in the final seconds of their Week 1 matchup with the Atlanta Falcons they found themselves with the ball on the Falcons’ 5-yard line with eight seconds to play. Mike Glennon dropped back looking for what would easily be among the most surprising of possible upsets this week, but the magic of the moment ran out quickly when Brooks Reed came around the edge and sacked Glennon to end the game and secure the 23-17 victory for last season’s N.F.C. champions.

“It burns,” tight end Zach Miller of the Bears told reporters after the loss. “It burns inside because it’s close. We had ample opportunity.”

Wentz Leads Eagles in Sloppy Victory over Redskins

Carson Wentz threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns, guiding the Philadelphia Eagles to a 30-17 victory over the Washington Redskins on Sunday in a sloppy, mistake-filled season opener between the N.F.C. East rivals.

Wentz was 26 of 39 and threw an interception that Ryan Kerrigan returned for a touchdown. But Wentz made fewer errors than Washington’s Kirk Cousins, who was picked off at the goal line and fumbled twice. Cousins’s second fumble was forced by Brandon Graham and returned 20 yards for a touchdown by Fletcher Cox in the final minutes, putting the game away.

Cousins finished 23 of 40 for 240 yards with a TD pass to third-down back Chris Thompson. He was under duress all day because of the relentless Eagles pass rush and was sacked four times. (AP)

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Malcolm Jenkins of the Philadelphia Eagles raised his fist during the national anthem on Sunday.CreditRob Carr/Getty Images

Players Make National Anthem Statements

Marshawn Lynch of the Oakland Raiders sat throughout the playing of the national anthem, Malcolm Jenkins of the Philadelphia Eagles raised his fist, and the Cleveland Browns took the field with police officers, firefighters, EMTs and the military, as N.F.L. players continue to struggle with how to approach the event in the wake of Colin Kaepernick’s protest last season.

While Lynch has not publicly discussed his reasons for sitting, Jenkins was continuing the protest he began last season, and had the support of his teammates, Chris Long and Rodney McLeod, who had their hands on Jenkins’ back for the entirety of the song.

The Browns, who had caused an uproar in the preseason when Christian Kirksey led a group of praying players on the field during the anthem, worked with local law enforcement to come up with a message of unity rather than defiance. Kirksey stood arm-in-arm with two police officers during the anthem.

Matt Stafford Earns His Big Paycheck for Lions

Carson Palmer was intercepted three times, David Johnson was not able to get any traction in the running game, and the Arizona Cardinals ended up overwhelmed in the second half, losing to the Detroit Lions, 35-23.

The game was the debut of Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford as the N.F.L.’s highest-paid player, and he responded by throwing a pick-six on his first passing attempt. But by the end of the game he had completed 29 of 41 passes for 292 yards and four touchdowns, engineering a fourth-quarter comeback after his team entered the quarter trailing, 17-15. The Lions reeled off 20 consecutive points, putting the game out of reach.

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The Steelers’ T.J. Watt celebrated an interception in the second half against the Browns.CreditDavid Richard/Associated Press

Steelers Pounce on Browns, Then Hold On to Win

Every team wants to believe that this can be their year, but the Cleveland Browns would be excused for hanging their heads a bit when the team’s first drive of the season resulted in a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown by the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers. The play proved to be huge in a game that was far closer than anyone would have expected, as the Steelers held off a late comeback attempt and walked away with a 21-18 victory.

The game marked the 13th consecutive season in which the Browns have opened the season with a loss. There was cause for optimism in Cleveland, as DeShone Kizer, a 2nd round pick in this year’s draft, flashed some promise, completing 20 of 30 passes for 222 yards. He scored on a 1-yard running play in the first half and led a 73-yard drive late in the game that resulted in a 3-yard touchdown pass to Corey Coleman.

The Steelers, on the other hand, struggled some on offense, but got some great news in the form of T.J. Watt’s N.F.L. debut. The younger brother of Houston’s J.J. Watt proved he was a worthy 1st round draft pick when he went out and dominated with seven tackles, two sacks an in interception. According to ProFootballReference.com, Watt is just the third player to record two sacks and an interception in their N.F.L. debut since the sack statistic became official in 1982.

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Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch broke free for a 14-yard rush in the first quarter.CreditMark Zaleski/Associated Press

Marshawn Lynch Gives Raiders’ Offense a Boost

Marshawn Lynch proved he can still find Beast Mode when he needs to, Derek Carr showed he is fully recovered from a broken fibula that kept him out of last year’s playoffs, and the Oakland Raiders got their season off to a good start with a fairly easy 26-16 road victory over the Tennessee Titans.

With Marcus Mariota entering his third season, many predicted a breakout year for the Titans, and Coach Mike Mularkey tried to come out of the gate fast with an onside kick to start the game. The move backfired, however, as Shalom Luani, a rookie safety, recovered the ball.

Given a short field, Carr was all business, leading a four-play 50-yard drive that featured the return of Lynch — who rumbled for a signature 14-yard run — and a terrific play in the red zone from Amari Cooper, who caught a short pass, stayed on his feet after initial contact, and then fought through the defense into the end zone for an 8-yard score.

The play was somewhat surprising considering the fact that Cooper was targeted just 13 times in the red zone last season according to SportRadar. While Cooper caught five of those passes, he did not score, and that same issue crept up on the next drive as Carr led the team to Tennessee’s 2-yard line but then had three consecutive passes go in an out of Cooper’s hands, making the Raiders resort to a 20-yard field goal by Giorgio Tavecchio after a 73-yard drive.

The game showed progress for Carr, who was an M.V.P. candidate before his injury last season. Carr was not quite his electric best, but still managed to grind out a win over quality competition. He completed 22 of 32 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns, while Lynch, who was retired last season, ran the ball 18 times for 76 yards, looking like the Beast Mode of old on a few plays, including a fourth-down conversion in the first half in which he was hit in the backfield but managed to fight past the defender to extend the drive.

The unexpected star of the game for Oakland, though, was Tavecchio, who went 4 for 4 on field goal attempts, including two 52-yarders. He was named the starter this week after Sebastian Janikowski was placed on injured reserve, and proceeded to become the first place-kicker other than Janikowski to make a field goal for the Raiders since Brad Daluiso kicked three in relief of Janikowski in the final game of the 2001 season.

The Titans kept things competitive, pulling to within a score with less than five minutes remaining in the game, but other than a 10-yard rushing touchdown by Mariota they were unable to find the end zone against a team that was among the worst in the N.F.L. last season in terms of scoring defense.

After the game, Lynch resumed his antics with the media, interrupting Coach Jack Del Rio’s news conference to announce that he had been available for three minutes and was looking to go home. “They didn’t holler at me,” Lynch said. “I’m good right?”

Jets Look as Bad as Advertised

The new-look Buffalo Bills might be better than advertised under rookie head coach Sean McDermott.

The Jets, however, opened the season playing well below even their meager expectations.

Tyrod Taylor showed no lingering signs of a concussion that sidelined him for two weeks by throwing two touchdowns in a 21-12 win on Sunday. The Bills never trailed after opening the scoring on Taylor’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Charles Clay 3 1/2 minutes into the second quarter.

Buffalo’s defense had three interceptions, including linebacker Ramon Humber picking off Josh McCown’s pass to thwart a 2-point conversion in the third quarter. Safety Micah Hyde sealed the victory by intercepting McCown at Buffalo’s 41 to end the Jets’ final series.

“Missed assignments. Missed assignments,” coach Todd Bowles said. “We’re not going to hang our heads. We’re going to get ready and not make the same mistakes next week.” — Associated Press

Deshaun Watson Makes His Debut and Scores

Deshaun Watson started the second half at quarterback for the Houston Texans after a terrible first half by Tom Savage.

The Texans traded up to draft Watson in the first round, but insisted all off-season that Savage would start. Savage struggled against the Jaguars, throwing for just 62 yards and losing a fumble that Jacksonville returned for a touchdown to build a 19-0 halftime lead. When Watson ran onto the field, it drew a huge cheer from the fans, who had booed Savage for most of the first half. Watson responded with a 75-yard drive culminating in a 4-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins.

The Texans never built on that momentum, however, and lost to the Jaguars, 29-7. Texans defensive end J.J. Watt went to the locker room briefly with an injured thumb, but returned to action in the second half.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page D7 of the New York edition with the headline: After Some Early Unrest, More Familiar Returns. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe